A more understanding fan

By CAM

With India’s early exit from the ICC World Twent20, scores of fans have vented their frustration at the team’s performance. Indian cricketers play under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform well. A lot is at stake, such as millions of unforgiving cricket fans, huge amount of income, etc. Sachin Tendulkar is considered one of the greatest players of all time. This is true not just for because he is exceptional at the game of cricket, but due to the fact that he has excelled with all this pressure around him. And for so long. An incredible feat. No wonder he has fans the world over!

The Indian team returned from the West Indies after subpar performance. All they really needed to do was to play badly in one game for the press and the fans to be on them like a caged lion. Losing all three matches at critical stage in the tournament was completely unforgivable in the minds of many. One can’t even begin to describe what some crazy fans were ready to do if any of the cricketers came within arm’s reach. This fanatical following by the millions of fans around the country and abroad, creates an attitude of ‘zero forgiveness’ if the team fails.

Some blame the selectors for including certain players. Some blame the IPL for India’s performance. Players from other teams such as England and Australia acknowledge the fact that they greatly benefited from the IPL as evidenced by their performances at the World Twenty20.

Countless fans are calling for Dhoni to be removed as captain. Some are calling for banning other players. A bit harsh, don’t you think? Hind sight is 20/20. No pun intended with the form of the game, but we are talking about 20/20 vision here! Looking back, sure the selectors could have picked certain players over others. Or, the IPL schedule could have been shorter. Or, certain bowlers that turned out to be expensive should not have bowled at the death. Or, the batsman should have used more discretion before playing certain shots. Typically when a shot goes off, we praise the batsman. When he misses the ball and the stumps are rattled, we blame him. This is twenty20 cricket! It is fast paced and we must remember that the players are chosen to play their natural game.

We must recognize and understand that success is built upon failure. Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time said, “I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Another quote by the great MJ, “I have never been afraid to fail”.

As fans of the game, it is important for us to give Dhoni, Yuvi, Rohit and the others room to fail. That is what will make them great. We cannot instill in them the fear of failure as this added pressure will ensure their failure. Be a true fan, not a fair-weather fan! Let us not forget the fact that India is ranked at the top of the world in TEST and ODI cricket. Dhoni has a considerable amount to do with that. Indian cricket needs Dhoni to grow into a greater captain than he already is. For this we must be with him, not against!

Indian cricket team, we know you will make us fans proud in the years to come…